The fan
by pdfish
Summary: Little Kouyuu looked at the fan that Reishin-sama was always carrying around...a story about the fan and Reishin's smile...


Disclaimer: I don't owe Saiunkoku Monogatari T_T and I don't earn any profit from this fic…. But the story is mine!!!

My first saiunkoku fan fic. I simply love Kouyuu!!! He's the best! Anyway…. Let's get on with the story.

A little hand reached out slowly.

_Just a little more, a little more_, the little boy thought.

However, just before his fingers touched it, it moved and tapped his fingers. It was not painful but the little boy jumped. He took a step back immediately and studied the floor while mumbling an apology.

"Kouyuu," the owner of the fan said as he opened the fan to hide his smile of amusement. Though he had no idea why the boy wanted the fan, it was fun to see him try. Not that he was going to let the boy know that too.

"I'm really sorry, Reishin-sama!" Kouyuu apologized though he didn't look up from the floor, "I'm really sorry."

"Kouyuu, what did you want with the fan?" Reishin asked the boy as he reached out with his fan to tip the boy's chin up.

"I…I… just want… it…" Kouyuu said quietly though he still refused to look at Reishin.

"Kouyuu," Reishin said sternly.

"I… just want to know what's so special about it!" Kouyuu said quickly after a slight pause, "you are always carrying around it!"

_Or looking at it. Yet, you seldom look at me… _Kouyuu thought sadly_, no. he was not jealous of the fan. He just wanted to…_

"Kouyuu? What are you talking about?" Reishin frowned as he studied the boy. He could not understand what the boy was talking about. There seemed to be something he was missing here.

"I… I just don't like it…" Kouyuu said softly as he still refused to look at his adopted father.

"I really have no idea what's going on inside your mind," Reishin sighed as he lowered the fan, "but this fan is a gift from my aniue. Of course, I bring it everywhere."

"Shouka- sama's gift?" Kouyuu muttered as he scrutinized at the fan in Reishin-sama's hand, "then I can't throw it away…"

"Throw it away!" Reishin's fan opened and closed with a snap, "you wanted to throw away Aniue's gift! How dare you!"

"I…I'm sorry, Reishin-sama! I…" Kouyuu was at a loss of words as he looked at his glaring father fearfully, "I… just wanted to see…"

"See what?" Reishin snapped. How dare the boy wanted to throw his things away!

However, he was curious as to why the boy wanted to throw his fan away. He could not think of any reasons why Kouyuu would have anything to do with his fan, much less wanted to throw it away.

"I… I just wanted to…" Kouyuu trailed off before he seemed to make up his mind to overcome his fear, "I just wanted to see your smile!"

"My smile? What does the fan have anything to do with it?" Reishin snapped again though he was privately glad that though the boy was a bit fearful of him, when Kouyuu was determined, he will overcome the fear if he wants to.

"I… Yuri-san says… you do smile at me but you always hide it behind that fan…I just wanted to make sure that…" Kouyuu said incoherently as tears started to fill up his eyes, "I thought if… the fan is not there… then I can… see…"

"You silly boy," Reishin sighed inwardly, "even if you can't see, you should know. That's enough, isn't it?"

"Reishin-sama?" Kouyuu looked up as he felt the hand petting his head gently.

"Kouyuu, if you do something that really pleased me, I will smile and let you see. However, it will just be a small smile," Reishin said as he bent down slightly to look at the boy in his eyes.

"Really?" Kouyuu asked hopefully, "then I just have to please you?"

"It's not going to be easy, Kouyuu," Reishin said as he opened the fan again, "I am not an easy man to please."

"I will work hard, Reishin-sama! I will work really really hard!" Kouyuu promised as he smiled brightly, "I will be useful to you, Reishin-sama!"

"Really? But do you even know how to do it?" Reishin asked in a monotone though the fan was once again, hiding his amused smile.

"I will pass the imperial exam quickly! Then I can help you with your work, Reishin-sama!" Kouyuu said as he smiled brightly.

"It's not easy to pass the exams and you are not allowed to use the Kou influence too. Plus the fact that you just started on learning how to read and write," Reishin questioned, wanting to see if the boy would wavered at the thought of obstacles.

"I will work extra hard then," Kouyuu answered determinedly as he looked at his adopted father.

Reishin was very pleased to note that there was no doubt but only determination in those eyes. However, he hid his feelings behind an expressionless mask.

"I will be waiting then. But remember this, Kouyuu," Reishin closed his fan with a snap and pointed it at Kouyuu, "you are not allowed to touch my fan! Much less to throw away a gift from my Aniue! Do you understand?"

Kouyuu nodded his head quickly before he ran out of the room at top speed. It's not like he was determined to throw the fan away. He just wanted to see if Reishin-sama really will smile because of him.

"I will make Reishin-sama be proud of me!" Kouyuu said determinedly as he quickened his steps towards his room, "so all I have to do is to study hard!"

However, he was going towards the direction in which he thought his room was, not the direction where his room was. Poor Kouyuu did not even realize that he had passed by Reishin's door again, heading in the wrong direction towards his room.

"That boy. He needs to find his way first before he can even start to study," Reishin muttered as he hid behind the door, looking at Kouyuu who seemed to have lost his way again, "he's ten years old and he still does not have a sense of direction? At this rate, he will be forty before he passes the exams. After all, the exams are not that easy. Then again I love to be surprised."

Years later, at the age of sixteen, Kouyuu had become the youngest Jougen at that time and Reishin graced him with a little smile.

Then again that was only towards Kouyuu. For people like Reishin's best friend, Houju…

"Reishin, wipe that goofy smile off your face! That smile did not suit you at all! After that, get out of my office!" Houju yelled at his friend who had stepped into his office, smiling like an idiot.

"Have you heard, Houju? Kouyuu is the youngest Jougen ever! He's my son, alright!" Reishin bragged about his adopted son to his friend.

"Get out! You have been telling me that since yesterday. I do not want to hear it again! Now get out!" Houju yelled as he pulled his mask from his face to properly glare at his friend.

"Now, now, Houju, don't you want to hear more?" Reishin continued his brag with that silly smile of his on his face.

Though he had not ever seen his friend this happy before, he did not want to hear any more words from his mouth. He was happy for his friend and even more for Kouyuu, the shy boy he saw before at his friend's estate. However, he needed to do his work and Reishin was once again an obstacle.

"Get out!" he yelled one final time before putting his mask back. However, Reishin just continued. Sometimes, Houju had no idea why such a person was considered his friend when all he did was being a pest...

Well… how do you all think? My first attempt at a saiunkoku's fan fiction…

~pdfish


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